SERVING: Sun and moon themed treats.

WHAT TO BRING: Your own chair, sun screen and, of course, your projects.
*There has been a lot in the media about the safety of solar glasses. Please know that these glasses are sourced from
the Astronomical League, a non-profit organization who supports over 270 local astronomy clubs across America and
meets the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard for such products. Even if you can’t join us on Monday, August 21,
you are welcome to buy your viewing glasses from us.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE 2017 GREAT AMERICAN SOLAR ECLIPSE…

Solar eclipses happen nearly every 18 months or so around the world, often over oceans as Earth
is covered by 71% water. But on a human time scale, total solar eclipses seem rare and random.
Any particular spot on earth will see one, on average, every 375 years.

This eclipse starts out in the Pacific Ocean and crosses into the contiguous United States at
Oregon at 9:05 am, PDT. The line of totality (meaning that the sun is totally eclipsed by the moon)
sweeps across the United States in a southeasterly direction, moving out into the Atlantic near
Charleston, SC at 4:09 pm, EDT. Totality lasts only about 1-3 minutes depending on your viewing
site; as the sun, moon and earth all keep on moving. Depending on distance people are from that
line of totality will determine how much of a partial eclipse they will see. Here, the southern-most
edge of the totality line runs through downtown Kansas City. Here at the Studio in Overland Park,
we will be observing a partial eclipse with the sun ALMOST blocked by the moon.

The good news is that everyone in the United States will see the sun from 50-100% eclipsed!

It’s a BIG DEAL that the line of this eclipse crosses only the United States. Astronomers have
calculated that the last time an eclipse followed such a path was in the year 436. The next time a
total solar eclipse follows this same path will be in 2319.

Figuring out the exact path a solar eclipse is not as exact a science as you would think. Scientists
have measured the size of the moon, as well as the distances from Earth to the moon and the sun
and from the moon to the sun. But the sun itself is a big, roiling ball of burning gases—making it
more difficult to measure. Total eclipses provide opportunities to learn more about the sun.

Just like knitting, it is all about the math. The perfect sun-moon-Earth alignment that results in a
total solar eclipse is an extraordinary cosmic coincidence! The sun is 400 times larger than the
moon and the moon is only able to “cover” the sun because the moon is 400 times closer to the
Earth. In all of the hundreds of billions star systems in our Milky Way galaxy, few, if any, are likely
to produce total solar eclipses like here on Earth. It is a coincidence not only of spatial relations but
also time and motion.

Go to this website to see a short video of what you will be able to see from the Studio parking lot:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/overland-park. You can also use this site to look at locations
all across the United States, if you have other viewing plans for that day.